Almost 50 new National Science Foundation Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) project descriptions are now cataloged on InformalScience.org from awards made in 2018.
Below, the awards are listed with their Principal Investigators’ (PIs) names and categorized by project type: Conferences, Innovations in Development, Pilots and Feasibility Studies, Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards, Rapid Response Research (RAPID), Research in Service to Practice, and Travel Grants.
You may also use the advanced search function on InformalScience.org to sort by audience type, disciplinary content, and other tags of interest.
Pictured: At an NSF AISL Principal Investigator Meeting, PIs share findings and challenges from their projects.
These are projects that are expected to result in deliverables such as exhibits, media products, after school programs, etc., and in innovative models, programs, technologies, assessments, resources, or systems for an area of STEM learning in informal environments.
| Antarctic Dinosaurs: A Giant Screen Film and Educational Outreach |
Deborah Raksany, Giant Screen Films |
| Big Astronomy in Chile through Dome+ |
Timothy Spuck, Associated Universities Inc / National Radio Astronomy Observatory |
| Building Capacity for Co-Created Public Engagement with Science |
David Sittenfeld, Museum of Science |
| Child Trends News Service: Advancing Social Science Knowledge to Benefit Hispanic Families - Phase 2 |
Alicia Torres, Child Trends |
| Convergent Learning from Divergent Perspectives: Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Informal Science Communication |
Sathya Gopalakrishnan, Ohio State University |
| Design Squad Maker: Researching How to Support Upper Elementary School Children's Sustained Engagement and Participation in Engineering Design across Out-of-School Settings |
Mary A. Haggerty, WGBH Educational Foundation |
| Designing Innovative Guided Play Experiences to Empower Parents and Engage Preschool-Age Children in STEM Learning |
Karen Bierman, Pennsylvania State University - University Park |
| Designing Our Tomorrow: Mobilizing the Next Generation of Engineers |
Marcie Benne, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry |
| Developing the Processes and Potential to Engage Historically Underrepresented Communities in Public Participation in STEM Research Through Authentic and Impactful Collaboration |
Karen A. Purcell, Cornell University |
| Enhancing the Capacity for Rural Libraries to Engage the Public in Drought Science, Monitoring, and Adaptation |
Nicole M. Colston, Oklahoma State University |
| Explore the Science of Spring: A Live Media Event |
Fred Kaufman, WNET |
| Influencing Millennial Science Engagement |
Asheley R. Landrum, Texas Tech University and Sue Ellen McCann, KQED |
| Montana Models: Connecting Local and Disciplinary Practices through University-Community Partnerships |
Mary Carlson, Montana State University |
| On-the-Spot Assessment to Improve Scientist Engagement with the Public |
Linda S. Shore, Astronomical Society of the Pacific |
| Snow: Museum Exhibit, Educational Outreach, and Learning Research |
Victoria Coats, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and Matthew Sturm, University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
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| Transforming Outdoor Places into Learning Spaces |
Heather Zimmerman, Pennsylvania State University - University Park |
These projects offer opportunities for practitioners and researchers to investigate issues in and approaches to informal STEM learning and to establish the basis for future research, design, and development of innovations or approaches.
| Akeakamai: Indigenous Explorations in Community-Based Science Learning |
Helen Turner, Chaminade University of Honolulu |
| Augmented Reality: Accessible Dynamic Informal STEM Learning for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing |
Wendy A. Dannels, Rochester Institute of Tech |
| Broadening Participation by Middle-School Students in STEM via Integrating Hands-on Experiences in Science Learning |
Meghan E. Hill, The Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts |
| Developing A Program Model for High School Science Research, Communication and Education Experiences in Living Laboratory |
Rebecca E. Kipling, Museum of Science |
| Evaluating STEM Scouts: The Design of a Comprehensive Evaluation Plan and Feasibility Study |
Jennifer Urban, Montclair State University |
| Exhibit-Based Public Participation in Social Psychology Research |
Joshua Gutwill, Exploratorium |
| Fostering Public Engagement in Computational Thinking by Leveraging Quilting Communities and Practices |
Gillian M. Smith, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Anne M. Sullivan, Georgia Tech Research Corporation |
| Framing Research on Activities as Mathematical Experiences |
Andee Rubin, TERC |
| Growing Computer Science Literacy via Informal Learning Communities among Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Men and Women |
Andrew Cencini, Bennington College and Jed Tucker, Bard College |
| Impactathons: Student-Led Peer-to-Peer Learning in Community Social-Change Technology Projects |
Chris Benner, University of California-Santa Cruz |
| Informal Learning Pathways through Mapathons for Military and Veteran Communities |
Patricia A. Solis, Texas Tech University |
| MathScapes: Activating Public Spaces for Early Math Learning |
Omowale J. Moses, Young People's Project, Inc. |
| Using Game Design Mechanics as Metaphors to Enhance Learning of Introductory Programming Concepts |
Magy Seif El-Nasr, Northeastern University |
Promising, early career doctoral-level scientists are provided two years of training under the sponsorship of established scientists, and encouraged to perform independent research.
NSF funded these projects as part of a 2017 Dear Colleague Letter in response to Hurricane Harvey, and are intended to enable the U.S. to better prepare for, respond to, recover from, or mitigate future catastrophic events.
These projects focus on research that advances knowledge and the evidence base for practices, assumptions, broadening participation, or emerging educational arrangements in STEM learning in informal environments, including the science of science communication.
| A Social Programmable Robot: Fostering Rapport to Improve Computer Science Skills and Attitudes |
Amy Ogan, Carnegie-Mellon University and Erin Walker, Arizona State University |
| Effective Environmental Workshop Facilitation and Local Community Action |
Lara J.Hansen, EcoAdapt and Marc Stern, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
| Impacts of STEM Experiences on Informal STEM Learning |
Robert H. Tai, University of Virginia |
| LabVenture - Revealing Systemic Impacts of a 12-Year Statewide Science Field Trip Program |
Leigh Peake, Gulf of Maine Research Institute |
| Multimodal Visitor Analytics: Investigating Naturalistic Engagement with Interactive Tabletop Science Exhibits |
James C. Lester, North Carolina State University |
| Re-Living Paleontology: Studying How Augmented Reality Immersion and Interaction Impact Engagement and Communicating Science to the Public |
Emily Lindsey, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History Foundation and Benjamin Nye, University of Southern California |
| The Role of Mentorship in Persistence in Informal STEM Programs for Under-represented Youth |
Mizuko Ito, University of California-Irvine |
| Teaching Together: Engaging Parents and Preschoolers in STEM Activities & Academic Conversations |
Tricia A. Zucker, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston |